Palo Alto Weekly

Sports - April 5, 2013

Sports Shorts

NEW FOOTBALL COACH . . . Menlo College found a new head football coach close to home, hiring former San Jose SaberCats quarterback Mark Grieb to take over the program. Grieb also has ties with the Oaks' football program, with two brief stints as an assistant coach. In 2003 he served as the team's offensive coordinator and in 2011 he directed the receivers. Grieb spent 12 seasons with the SaberCats, helping them win three Arena Bowl championships and earning league MVP honors twice. He's among the leaders in the AFL's career record books; inking his name in the top-three in six career offensive categories including: Most passes completed in a career, completion percentage, passing yards, touchdown passes, most passes attempted, and most seasons as the league leader in passing yards. Grieb was the first player in AFL history to throw for more than 4,000 yards in seven straight seasons and the only player in league history to throw for 70-plus scores in nine straight seasons. During his last two seasons with the team, Grieb rolled into a role as both a player and coordinator, running offensive meetings and practices and leading offseason workouts for teammates under head coach Darren Arbet and Offensive Coordinator Terry Malley. Utilizing his experiences as both a player and coordinator bodes well for Grieb and his future with Menlo College. Aside from playing professionally, Grieb has spent the past 10 years coaching in various capacities. He spent a pair of seasons as an assistant coach at his alma mater, UC Davis where he worked with head coach Bob Biggs and coached freshman quarterbacks. While receiving his Master of Arts degree in Science Education from Stanford in 2000-01, Grieb was a graduate assistant under Tyrone Willingham and oversaw the offensive scout team.

NATIONAL TEAMS . . . Three U.S. Soccer women's national teams will have some local flavor when one heads off to a tournament and two others prepare for training camps in Southern California this month.

Palo Alto High freshman Jacey Pederson is one of 20 players selected by head coach B.J. Snow for the U.S. Under-17 National Team that will travel to San Jose, Costa Rica, from April 21-29 for an international tournament featuring the host team and the USA's counterparts from Mexico and Japan. The roster for the upcoming women's U-20 camp at The Home Depot Center (April 13-20) also has been announced and will include Stanford recruit Jane Campbell and current Cardinal freshman Laura Liedle. The U.S. is preparing for the 2014 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup in Canada. The U.S. U-18 women's team will hold its second training camp of the year from April 10-17 at The Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista. A total of 24 players have been invited, including Menlo School's Jaye Boissiere and Menlo-Atherton's Zoe Pacalin.